$414m spent on Super Bowl LII

MINNEAPOLIS: Preliminary estimates of in-game ad expenditures for Super Bowl LII indicate that a total of $414m was spent – which would be the second largest amount ever after last year’s game which generated $419m.

And when expenditures from pre-game and post-game programming are tabulated and included, the total revenue for the event will easily surpass $500m, according to Kantar Media.

The advertising intelligence firm reported a total of 49 minutes, 35 seconds of commercial time from paying sponsors, the NFL and NBC Universal networks – the third highest total on record – with ads accounting for 22% of the total broadcast.

Excluding the promotional messages aired by NBC Universal and the NFL, there were a total of 62 in-game spots aired by 45 different advertisers from 37 unique parent company owners.

Anheuser-Busch InBev and Fiat Chrysler Automotive were the top-spending parent companies in the game, each purchasing 4:00 minutes of air time, followed by Toyota Motor with an estimated 3:00 minutes and then Amazon.com at 2:30 minutes.

Auto manufacturers were the lead category during the game, accounting for 11 spots and 9:00 minutes of commercial time. Beer brands were in second place, with six spots and 4:00 minutes of air time; motion pictures, in third, had five spots and 3:30 minutes, while telecoms brands claimed four spots and 3:10 minutes.

There were only four first-time marketers during the game, Kantar Media added – including Australia Tourism, Blacture.com, Giant Bomb (a mobile game publisher) and Monster (audio headphones) – the fewest in the past decade and less than one-half the number in each of the four preceding Super Bowl games.

Some 45% of 2017 sponsors did not return in 2018, an attrition rate that matched that seen in the previous ten Super Bowls.

Finally, and despite the costs involved, Kantar Media observed a resurgence of long-form ads. Of the 62 in-game commercials from paying sponsors, 19 were one minute or longer, the most since 2015.

The current thinking and reading on Super Bowl advertising, an event for which the advertising has become as important as the sport, but the way in which people watch is changing – brands must be ready.

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